Keep Smiling
by TheKeyIsLove
Summary: Kyo loves to see Tohru smile. And he'd do anything to keep her happy. Even if it means looking dumb... Just lovey-dovey fluff, read and review!


_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket... but I do love Kyo! *snuggles Kyo-kun***_

**_This was written before I finished reading the series, so, if you know how the story of the Sohmas ends... well, just go with it._**

**_Fluff, some tears, a kiss... and an adorably confused Kyo. 'Cause you know you love to see him flustered!_**

* * *

Keep Smiling

"Kyo-kun!"

Kyo Sohma looked up immediately. His girlfriend, Tohru Honda, was grinning at him. In her hands she held a tiny stuffed cat, its color a vivid pink. "Isn't it cute, Kyo-kun?" she asked happily.

Kyo smiled. "If you say so, Tohru," he answered. It wouldn't matter if she were holding a toy skunk; she would still call it cute. That's just how she was.

Then again, the Cat had always held a special place in her heart…

A determined look suddenly crossed her face. Kyo held back a laugh. Everyone who knew Tohru referred to that expression, and its accompanying tone of voice, as 'Honda-willpower'. "I suppose we should keep looking for Kazuma-san's present," she said. "After all, his birthday is only a week away."

Even though she had only known him for a few years, Tohru was very fond of Kyo's adoptive father. She insisted on buying him presents, not only on his birthday, but at New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, and White Day.

With a wistful look, Tohru placed the toy back on the shelf. Her small hands patted its head lovingly, before she turned and walked away.

As Tohru headed toward the back of the store, Kyo picked up the cat. The price tag made him raise his eyebrows. "No wonder she put it down," he muttered to himself, thinking of how little extra money his girlfriend had. If she was going to buy Kazuma something, she wouldn't be able to afford anything else.

Her sweet smile as she held the toy flitted through his mind, and he hurried to the front of the store.

-0-

Tohru was skipping as they followed the forest path that led them home. She was humming off-key, and her white shopping bag was swinging in time with her steps.

Suddenly, she stopped. "Do you really think Kazuma-san will like his present?" she asked, nervously wringing her hands.

Kyo, who could now spot a panic attack a mile away, smiled. "It's a CD of his favorite singer," he said kindly. Taking her hand, he added, "He'll love it."

Tohru sighed, relieved. "Good." Kyo chuckled and they resumed walking.

The quiet of the forest was calming, soothing, and kind of romantic. Kyo loved the way his girlfriend smiled at him, the feeling of her hand in his, knowing that she felt the same way about him that he had always felt about her. He wasn't good at explaining his emotions, but at times like this, he didn't have to.

They came in sight of the house then, and Tohru smiled brightly at the young man standing on the porch. "Good evening, Yuki-kun," she greeted him cheerfully.

Yuki Sohma smiled softly. "Hello, Honda-san. Did you enjoy your shopping trip?" His voice, like his appearance, was gentle and serene.

Tohru held up her bag. "Yes, thank you. And I found a gift for Kazuma-san that Kyo-kun said he will like very much!"

"Wonderful." Yuki looked in the direction of the woods, then back to her face. "I was just going to see if our garden needs tending. Do you want to come?"

"Yes!" Tohru said happily. Then she paused. "That is, if Kyo-kun doesn't mind?"

"I don't care." Like he could say no to those huge, pleading eyes. "I've got stuff to do anyway." Taking her shopping bag, he smiled a little. "I'll put this in your room," he said quietly, so she would know he wasn't angry.

Her eyes told him she understood. "Thank you, Kyo-kun," she said, and she followed after Yuki.

Kyo watched her disappear into the woods before he hurried inside the house and upstairs to Tohru's room. As soon as he was inside the room he closed the door, set the shopping bag on the dresser, and sat in her desk chair. Reaching in his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small white bag, which he emptied onto the desk. A tiny pink cat stared up at him.

Kyo opened a few drawers until he found what he wanted: a piece of paper, and a pen.

"Now what?" he whispered.

The cat gave no answer.

Unsure of what to write, he decided to just keep it simple. He bit his lip, and started writing. Then he scrapped that piece of paper. He started another. Then he threw that one away, too. This pattern repeated itself several more times.

Finally he found the right words.

Sitting back in the chair, he reread what he had written.

_Tohru,_  
_I'm not good with words. But you know that._  
_I saw how happy you were when you found this._  
_So I want you to have it._  
_I want you to keep smiling like that._  
_-Kyo_  
_P.S. Don't try to give it back!_

It was far from poetic, but it would have to do. Tohru would probably understand. She was good at things like that.

Setting the note by the toy, Kyo decided to vacate the room before he was caught. He quickly left, tossing the bag in the trash on his way out. He felt pretty good about himself.

-0-

An hour later, as he lounged on his bed, he had an extremely different view of his actions.

_It's dumb!_ he told himself. _She'll think I'm being an idiot. I should go get rid of it before she finds it on accident…_

But you want her to have the toy, right? His inner being argued back.

_Yeah…_

So what's the problem?

_The note._

So go trash the note, but leave the cat. She'll put two-and-two together.

_Okay… okay, I will._

But just as he decided that, there was a gentle knock on his door. "Kyo-kun?" a familiar voice called quietly, almost timidly.

_Oh, crap. _Swallowing hard, Kyo answered, "Come in."

Tohru did, closing the door behind her. Kyo noticed she held the note in her hands. He grimaced, wondering if he'd managed to come across as mad. _Wouldn't be the first time_, he groused. Then he looked up.

Tohru's eyes were filled with tears.

Jumping from his bed, cursing himself to the edge of the earth and back, Kyo placed his hands on her small shoulders. "I'm sorry! Whatever I said, I'm sorry. Please don't cry," he begged.

Tohru shook her head. "No! Don't be sorry!" she choked out, her voice sounding odd from the repressed tears. "You are so… _nice_." This seemed to shatter her control, and her eyes spilled over. Quickly wiping her face, she added, "Sorry."

Kyo, thoroughly stumped, led her to the bed. "But… it's just a little toy! Why are you so…" At a loss for the right word, he motioned to her still-teary eyes.

Tohru smiled a little. "Because of what you wrote," she answered simply. "You said you only bought the cat to make me happy." She held his hand on her lap. "That was a very kind thing to say, Kyo."

"Well, it's true. I-I like it. When you're happy. A lot." Kyo felt his face turn red. "I want you to always be happy. I-I want to make you smile all the time." Looking at where his hand sat cradled in hers, he whispered, "I love you."

It wasn't the first time he'd told her that. But he didn't say it often. So her reaction didn't shock him too much.

Tohru carefully placed her arms between them, with her hands on his shoulders, holding their chests apart so that he wouldn't transform. Then she kissed him.

Kyo closed his eyes and sighed. He let his hands travel to her back, holding her in an almost-there-but-not-quite embrace, and smoothing slow, loving circles where they rested.

These moments with each other were truly special. They could never be wasted, or mistreated. They were too sacred.

Tohru's lips moved softly, slowly, pouring her heart out to him. Kyo, tasting the tears that had started running down her cheeks again, moved his right hand to caress her face. His left hand drifted to her waist, where it pulled her closer to him.

Kyo's hands became more firm, trailing from her shoulders down her arms, and his longing to show Tohru just how much he cared for her increased. His mouth left hers to kiss her nose, her eyelids, and her forehead. He leaned down to capture her lips again as his arms pulled her even closer-

_POOF!_

Kyo groaned. "This sucks!" he said loudly.

Tohru looked down at the orange cat now resting in her lap and giggled. "But Kyo-kun is so cute like this," she consoled him, picking him up and cradling him to her chest. Her fingers trailed across his stomach to tenderly scratch under his chin, and he purred contentedly.

After a few happy moments, Kyo looked up into her shining face. "Just keep smiling for me, okay?" He licked her chin playfully, and she giggled again, nodding her promise. She held him tightly and kissed the top of his head, right between his ears. Then she lay down on his bed, keeping her arms around him, with Kyo curled to her chest.

"I love you, too, Kyo-kun," she murmured into his fur, and Kyo purred again.

_I guess I need to write her notes more often_, he thought absent-mindedly, before snuggling into the arms of his true love, fully intent on a catnap.


End file.
